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Trouble on the Horizon
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When Cleveland State Coach Gary Waters raised two fists in the air for a victory salute inside Hinkle Fieldhouse, you could almost hear Maryland's Gary Williams and Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg pound their fists in frustration.
Cleveland State -- of all teams -- has just made it more difficult for Maryland and Virginia Tech to earn at-large berths in the NCAA tournament.
The Vikings' upset of Butler in the Horizon League title game means the Horizon will get two teams into the NCAAs. Cleveland State earned the conference's automatic berth. Butler, a team with a sound résumé, high RPI (17) and 11 road wins, is expected to earn an at-large berth Sunday.
Cleveland State had lost two games to Butler by a total of four points earlier this season, but Waters's team played with more desperation than the Bulldogs in the Horizon final because the automatic berth was the Vikings' only way in.
But that made the window that much tighter for those teams on the so-called "bubble," teams such as Maryland and Virginia Tech.
If Maryland beats North Carolina State and Wake Forest in the first two rounds of the ACC tournament this week, the Terrapins will have a strong argument. And if the Hokies beat Miami and North Carolina in the conference tournament, they also will have a strong case.
But there are a finite number of at-large slots, 34 to be exact. And realistically, just three or four are in play at this point. Fans of Maryland and Virginia Tech need to root for the favorites in all the conference tournaments. They also need to root against some teams in danger of falling back, namely Arizona, Minnesota and Penn State.
In a way, Cleveland State's win helps the tournament selection committee because it has to make one less decision about teams with mediocre résumés. It's gotten to the point where the teams that will earn the final at-large berths will be the ones that damage their résumés the least this week.
And after the Horizon final, the margin for error for Maryland and Virginia Tech is even smaller than it was earlier in the day. They can thank Cleveland State.
-- Eric Prisbell
